you're a hard soul to save (but i'll get around it)
by myeveryday
Summary: Five times Oliver comforted Felicity, and one time she comforted him.


**So this is my first delve into the **_**Arrow**_** fandom. I absolutely adore the show and I only hope that I can do these amazing characters justice! This will be pretty much canon and it will hopefully follow chronologically with most of the episodes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This story title comes from the song "Over the Love" by Florence and the Machine.**

* * *

**first.**

She's pacing back and forth in the basement.

That's where Oliver finds Felicity Smoak right after he becomes well enough to walk around. He knows that she might be a little traumatized after finding him (bleeding) in the backseat of her car, but she seems to have been handling it with relative ease. But he supposes that everyone has their moment—and by the looks of it, Felicity is having hers.

Oliver simply watches her for several long moments. Her flats make muffled noises against the cement floor of the basement, and she tugs on the end of her blonde ponytail. She turns sharply once she reaches the wall and heads towards the opposite one, muttering under her breath the entire time. Oliver finds himself wanting to smile, but he holds it back as he steps further into the basement under Verdant.

"Felicity?" he calls in a voice just loud enough to be heard.

Even though Oliver's voice is quiet, Felicity still jumps. She whips around to face him, one hand falling flat against her chest. She's wearing a black pencil skirt and a pretty pink blouse; that's the first thing Oliver notices after he notes how stressed she appears.

"Oliver! Hi!" Felicity exclaims. "How are you? Well, you must be feeling well enough if you're walking around on your own. Wait, does Diggle know that you're up? Should you even be up? Maybe you should sit down—"

"Felicity." Oliver holds his hands up and this time he can't keep the smile off of his lips. "I'm okay."

Felicity studies him with abnormally perceptive eyes, but she says nothing else. Instead, she nods her head slowly. Then she bites down on her bright pink lower lip, and Oliver tries his best not to watch the motion too closely. He shakes his head slightly and steps further into the basement. He takes in all of the improvements Felicity has made to his previous systems and sends an approving look her way.

"Are you okay, Felicity?" he asks. Because really, what else can Oliver say? He's somehow managed to drag this innocent blonde IT girl into the mess that is his life, and he doesn't know how to apologize for that.

Felicity's hands twist together. "I'm okay. Of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be? I only somehow managed to find myself trying to help the Starling City vigilante. Do you know that you happen to be one of the most wanted men in the city?" As soon as the words leave her mouth, Felicity closes her eyes and winces. "I shouldn't have said that."

Oliver shrugs his shoulders. "It doesn't really matter to me either way," he states. And it really doesn't. He believes in what he's doing for this city. And he has a feeling that Felicity does, too. Would she still be here if she didn't?

Still, he has to say it. "You know, you can leave if you want. I know you said that you would stay, but… you don't have to. I don't want to make you do something that you're not comfortable with, Felicity." He means to sound comforting, but it just really isn't working out. Oliver is prepared to see Felicity walk out the door, truthfully.

Felicity's eyes soften, and Oliver can't help but think about how she's one of the only people that he knows who is completely sincere. She waves one small hand dismissively and smiles at him. "Don't be ridiculous, Oliver," she says. "You need me."

Boy, does he ever.

* * *

**second.**

He should know better.

Somehow, the Dodger had managed to get a hold of Felicity and attach a bomb to her neck. Oliver doesn't think that he will ever forget the look of complete and utter terror on her face. Something breaks (even further) inside of him when he remembers how she ran up to him and Diggle with that look.

Felicity Smoak is brilliant, but is it really worth her safety to get help with his mission to save the city? This is a question that Oliver asks himself every day. Even so, Felicity never leaves. In fact, only hours after having a live bomb attached to her neck, she is sitting at her computer doing research. Felicity never ceases to amaze him.

Oliver approaches quietly. When he gets close enough, he reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder. He intends for this to be his way to alert her to his presence, but she jumps anyway.

"Jesus, Oliver!" Felicity exclaims as her chair swivels to face him. "You can't just sneak up on people like that!"

Oliver turns the corners of his mouth up in what's supposed to be a smile and shrugs his shoulders. "I just want to see how you were doing," he says quietly.

Felicity grows uncharacteristically silent. Oliver has gotten to know the resident IT genius over the last couple of months, and he doesn't ever recall her being this quiet before. It's unnerving, to say the least.

She stares down at her hands; her nails are painted gold to match the dress she had worn earlier that night. "I was terrified," she admits in a voice barely loud enough to be heard. She looks as if she wants to say something more, but she clamps her mouth shut and then looks up at Oliver with big blue eyes.

It's only then that Oliver realizes he hasn't removed his hand from her shoulder. He's suddenly glad for that, since it means he can squeeze her shoulder comfortingly. Being on the island for five years and fending for his life in the most vicious of ways makes it extremely difficult for him to show any form of comfort at all. It only really happens with people he was close with before he was stranded on the island; even then, it's sometimes hard and awkward.

But with Felicity, it's easy.

The simple movement causes Felicity to relax, and some of the tension leaves her shoulders. "That won't happen again," Oliver states firmly. He knows that his words can offer little comfort, but he can only try to give her reassurance. Felicity is a part of his team now, and he won't let her get hurt in the crossfire.

To his relief (and surprise), Felicity smiles. She nods her head, and her fingers brush against his where they rest against her shoulder. "I know," she says in response. And that's all she needs.

* * *

**third.**

The devastation is unbelievable.

Felicity stands in the middle of the Glades as the sun rises over the city. The harsh light of a new day reveals all of the destruction caused by the Undertaking, and her heart breaks because of it. She feels her eyes burn with unshed tears, and she blinks hard to keep them at bay.

Oliver is somewhere off to her right, and she knows that he has suffered much more than she has. Still, her heart aches for everyone who lost someone or something. Felicity somehow feels responsible—maybe she could have done more to help Oliver stop Malcolm in time. There has to have been something (anything) more that she could have done.

Felicity's gnaws on her bottom lip and tugs at the loose strands that have escaped from her ponytail. She's never seen anything like this in her entire life, and when she used to sit behind the IT desk at Queen Consolidated, she didn't think she ever would.

But now that she's working with the Hood, she supposes that it's just a part of the job description.

Felicity is surprised when she feels a hand wrap around hers. Those calloused fingers are more than a little familiar, and she looks up to find Oliver suddenly by her side. His eyes are rimmed with red and are puffy, but he's not looking for comfort; he's trying to give it.

Felicity opens her mouth to say something (to try and tell Oliver that it's okay to feel this pain), but the words won't leave her mouth. Instead—to her complete embarrassment—a tear rolls down her cheek. Her heart breaks then, because this is just so unfair. No one should ever feel this much pain, and not a single one of these victims deserved it.

Oliver lifts a hand to her cheek and brushes the tear away with his fingertips. "It's okay," he murmurs in a rough voice. His fingers catch the other few tears that manage to escape, and his hand lingers against the curve of Felicity's cheek. "It's over now. You're safe."

Felicity knew it before, but she's absolutely and positively sure of it now: Oliver Queen is a hero.

* * *

**fourth.**

She is so not cut out for this job.

Felicity Smoak is a brilliant IT girl with a degree from MIT. And yet she finds herself acting as an executive assistant for Oliver Queen.

She understands his reasoning for it, of course. As begrudging as she is to admit it, Oliver is right—he can't travel down all those floors just to talk to her about what they do late at night. It's much easier to have her stationed right outside of his office.

Still.

Felicity hears the whispers of everyone else who was passed over (and who are much more qualified) to be Oliver's executive assistant. There are nasty murmurings about how she probably slept her way to the top in order to get the job and the raise. Felicity tries her best to pretend that she doesn't hear them, but sometimes those whispers become too loud.

And then there's Isabel Rochev. Felicity thinks that Isabel is the worst thing that could have ever happened to Queen Consolidated, but it's not like she can do anything to help the situation. All she can do is act as a buffer between Isabel and Oliver and hope that the other woman doesn't completely take over the company.

But Isabel also drops nasty remarks that cut deeply at Felicity. There's only so many times that she can hear someone call her a gold-digging skank before it affects her, and Felicity has just about reached the end of her rope.

"Hey."

Felicity looks up to find Oliver leaning out of his office. She holds up a finger in his direction and arches her eyebrows. "I'm not getting you a cup of coffee," she states bluntly.

Oliver chuckles, and his face breaks into a full grin. "I wasn't going to ask you," he retorts. "Actually, I wanted to see if you were okay."

Felicity tries to play dumb. "What do you mean?" she asks as she turns back to her computer. Maybe if she doesn't make eye contact with Oliver, he won't try and press the issue.

But she should know him better than that. "Come on Felicity," he says. He steps closer to her desk and shoves his hands into the pockets of his expensive slacks. Felicity notices that he already has his tie missing and the first few buttons of his dress shirt are also undone. She finds this incredibly endearing even though she shouldn't.

Oliver leans over her desk and ducks his head down, forcing Felicity to meet his gaze. "I've heard some of what people have been saying," he tells her. "You know that you shouldn't listen to them, right?"

Felicity snorts and spins her chair around. "Right. Easier said than done."

Oliver smiles at her even though she isn't facing him. This is exactly like his Felicity; even though she's hurt, she's brushing it off and trying not to show any vulnerability. Oliver respects her strength and resilience, but he's not about to let anyone spread these nasty rumors about her.

"You won't have to worry about what they're saying, Felicity," he assures her firmly. "I'll make sure of it."

Instead of arguing with Oliver about how she could take care of herself (which just proves to him that she really is bothered with the whole situation), she just smiles and nods her head.

"My hero," she says with twinkling eyes.

Even though Felicity is just teasing, Oliver wants to be that hero for her.

* * *

**fifth.**

She's shaking.

That's the only thing that Oliver can think about as he ushers Felicity into the Foundry. Diggle is passed out in one of the beds, so Oliver doesn't have to worry about him quite yet. Right now, all of his focus is on Felicity.

They were able to get out of Queen Consolidated quickly and before the police got there. Oliver is thankful for that, because the last thing he wants is for Felicity to go through all of that questioning after she has been through something so traumatizing.

Oliver only has a limited amount of time before he has to be back to hear the verdict for his mother's trial, but he wants—needs—to make sure that Felicity is okay before he goes.

Oliver settles Felicity into the most comfortable chair he can find and then extracts a blanket from one of the cots kept in the Foundry. He wraps it around Felicity and then does his best to smooth her hair back. He feels white-hot anger flash through him when he remembers how the Count had dragged Felicity across the room by her ponytail, but he pushes it away.

"You're okay," Oliver assures Felicity in a soft voice. His hand trails from her hair to her cheek, and he keeps his touch feather light. "It's over now."

Felicity nods her head and pulls the blanket tighter around her body. She looks up at him with her wide blue eyes filled with tears, and Oliver smiles at her. He will do anything to keep her from crying, and his smile seems to keep the tears at bay.

"Oliver, I…" Felicity's voice is weak and shaky. She trails off and swallows hard before attempting to speak again, but Oliver stops her by pressing his fingers to her lips. She's so surprised by the move that she doesn't make any noise at all.

"Rest," Oliver orders gently. "I'll be back in a little bit."

He hears Felicity whisper "thank you" as he leaves, and he smiles.

* * *

**sixth.**

It doesn't take Felicity long to find him.

She had a feeling that Oliver would be in the Starling City cemetery. What she hasn't really counted on, however, was finding him with a bottle of scotch in his hand.

"Oliver," Felicity murmurs as she approaches him carefully.

But Oliver only lazily lolls his head in Felicity's direction. A decidedly drunken smile spreads across his lips, he waves with the hand not clutching the bottle of scotch. "Hey, Felicity." His words are slurred and slow, but he does seem happy to see her. Felicity considers this a good sign.

She briefly considers calling Diggle for assistance, but she decides not to at the last moment (Diggle is currently on a date with Lyla and they both deserve the much needed break). Instead, Felicity crouches down next to Oliver and she wishes that she had changed into a pair of flats.

"Come on, Oliver," she says as she gestures for him to stand. She's not entirely sure that Oliver can stand on his own, but she figures that she should try anyway.

But Oliver doesn't move. "You know, scotch was Tommy's favorite," he says in response.

Felicity bites her lip and looks at the headstone that Oliver is propped up against. She knows that Oliver has more than his fair share of demons, but Tommy Merlyn is one of his biggest ones. Tommy was his best friend and Oliver will forever feel responsible for his death, no matter what anyone says to him. Even a year after Tommy died, there is nothing Felicity can do for Oliver besides let him grieve.

But that doesn't mean she is to let him sit against that cold, hard headstone. So Felicity grabs onto Oliver's arms and slings them around her shoulders. Mercifully, Oliver leaves the more than half-empty bottle of scotch on the ground as Felicity hauls him to his feet. She nearly stumbles under his weight but she manages to right them both just in time.

"Good God, Oliver," she mumbles under her breath. "You're all muscle." And it's all pressed against her and leaning against her for support and… Felicity shakes her head. Now is so _not_ the time to be thinking about that.

Oliver doesn't help matters at all by saying, "Hey Felicity, I can see two of you!"

But she does find it kind of funny.

It's slow going, but eventually Felicity gets Oliver to her car. She helps him into the backseat (and marvels over how she managed to get him to fit into it) before she climbs into the driver's seat. Felicity taps at the steering wheel as she contemplates where to bring Oliver.

She doubts that he wants to be at the mansion at all, given that was where he and Tommy spent so much of their childhood. He would only be reminded of his best friend there. The Foundry is out as well, since it only serves as a reminder to Oliver of the Arrow and the night he couldn't save Tommy.

So Felicity decides to head to neutral ground: her apartment.

It takes some persuading to get Oliver to climb out of the tiny car and into her apartment, but she eventually gets him there. He sheds his dress shirt and pants once he's in her room, leaving him in just his t-shirt and boxers. Normally, Felicity would be in a tizzy because he is stripping down, but all she can focus on is how puffy his eyes are.

Oliver turns those wounded eyes on her, and Felicity's heart breaks. And then he says, "It's my fault."

"Oliver…"

"No. Felicity, it's my fault."

His eyes are glassy and full of hurt and pain, and Felicity just wants to make it go away. She steps forward and raises a hand to rest it against his face. She brushes against the stubble on his cheek and shakes her head slowly. He turns his face into her hand, and Felicity wishes that she could do something more for Oliver.

"It's not your fault," she says in a quiet but firm voice. "Don't ever believe that. Please."

Oliver looks strangely drunken but sober at the same time. Then he loses his footing but manages to fall back against her bed. Felicity is grateful, because that means she doesn't have to drag him (like she practically had to do in order to get him into her apartment) to bed.

However, he reaches for her hand at the last second and pulls her down with him.

Felicity is about to climb out of the bed when Oliver grabs her other hand as well. For the first time, Oliver Queen looks at her with pleading eyes and squeezes her fingers tightly.

"Stay," he whispers.

Felicity studies him for a long, silent moment. Then she nods her head and kicks off her shoes before she pulls the covers back. She turns on her side, facing Oliver as he settles into the bed.

When she wakes up the next morning, Felicity finds that one of her hands is entwined with Oliver's. And he's smiling at her.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading! :)**


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